The Professional Resume: Fact or Fiction?
A Cautionary Tale Not to Judge A Book By It’s Cover
As a recruiter, I see hundreds of resumes a week. I am quickly scanning for key titles, duties, and achievements, as well as spelling and grammatical errors before moving on to the next contender. Of course, a resume that stands out always piques my interest for a bit longer than the standard 6 seconds (yes, its true, most recruiters and hiring managers only look at a resume for an average of 6 seconds before deciding whether to keep or reject!).
I am happy to screen resumes for my clients, so they don’t have to – it’s part of my job as their recruiter. But trust me when I say that my blue light filter lenses have come in handy for the hours of screen time spent looking over countless resumes, profiles, and cover letters.
One thing I have learned about resumes is that they rarely reflect candidates accurately. I have come across beautifully crafted resumes with eye catching formats and well-written descriptions, only to speak with the candidate on the phone to discover a lot of their work experience – like previous job titles and duties – has been embellished, misrepresented, or even fabricated.
How does this happen?
Well, one factor could be that they had their resumes professionally written. Candidates may hire resume writing services to create impressive resumes that will stand out from the crowd. While a professional CV may grab a hiring manager’s attention, it can be a hinderance if it does not accurately reflect the candidate’s skills and experience. A professional resume does not help the candidate through the interview process. If a candidate cannot explain or expand upon the content of their resume during an interview, it is likely that the resume was written by someone else, and/or the duties and capabilities listed therein are not [entirely] accurate.
Another danger of professionally written resumes is that they do not reflect the candidate’s writing ability and vernacular. The applicant may write a cover letter to accompany their resume that doesn’t match in terms writing style, since the resume and cover letter are written by two different people. A mismatched resume and cover letter is often the first sign that you have a professionally written resume in your hands. A candidate’s writing style is an important consideration, particularly if the position you are screening them for involves producing written communications on behalf of you or your business.
Professional resumes are great at helping candidates stand out from the crowd, but they shouldn’t be relied upon to inform hiring decisions. It’s great that the candidate has gotten your attention, now you need to dig deeper during the interview process to disseminate the information in their resume. If the skills and experience on the resume is exaggerated or untrue, the truth will come out during the interview process. If you think a candidate is strong but suspect that their resume is professionally written, consider assigning a writing task for them to complete during an interview. Then you can assess their writing skills and style based on a piece that you know with 100% certainty was written by the candidate themselves and not a paid professional.
As a realtor, team, or brokerage, you may not be privy to the deceptions some candidates use to get their feet in the door. I caution all hiring manager and recruiters to always scrutinize the most alluring and professional-looking resumes with a discerning eye. A hire based on erroneous information is not likely to serve your organization well.
